Val gasped for breath. Her body was no longer in the depths of the ocean but washed up on the shore. Sand covered her whole body. She felt ravenous, so the girl grabbed a fish that was swimming and bit off the creature’s head. This is wrong, but I have to do this. I will not survive if I do not eat. The fish tasted so good down her throat. She savoured the taste of the meat. Fish blood was all over her hands. Was it immoral? After all, she had to do it to survive, but did that make it right?

The Emperor and the dragon were nowhere to be seen. Now, she was on an unfamiliar beach all alone. It had all been for nothing. She stood up and walked around, and after walking further along, she heard voices. Immediately, she crouched down and hid herself in the sand.

‘There is a threat to this kingdom, the Child of Ash.’ One of the voices said.

‘That name sounds familiar, where have I heard of it before?’ The voice sounded like Aurora. Could it be? Val doubted it. She cannot be here, it would make no sense. Val peeked over the sand. It was Aurora. It could not be possible. Val stood up and ran towards Aurora.

‘Aurora! Aurora, it is me, Val! You will never guess what happened while you were gone. What are you doing here anyway?’

‘Val? Oh my goodness, Val, you are alive!’ Aurora embraced Val, ‘I got captured to try and find you. Thank the Lord that you are alive!’ Aurora had tears in her eyes.

‘Frederick,’ Val looked at the other person,’ It is me, the girl you saved, and the girl who stopped the thugs with you. I never got to thank you for your hospitality.’

‘It is no problem, but I must tell you something. The Emperor is going to find the Resistance Outpost. We do not have much time, the journey will be too long.

‘I have an idea,’ Val pointed south.’There is a dragon in Syronia, I should know because I rode it with the Emperor. We can use it to stop the Emperor, but then, I must return it to its owner.’

‘Who owns it?’ Aurora asked.

‘Jack Sathilyn.’ Frederick and Val both spoke the same name.

‘That reminds me, he was the one who wanted to free you in exchange for the journey to Syronia. The Emperor and I promised we would return it.’

‘The journey will be too long, we have to get a boat to Razgaroth.’

‘Looking for a boat?’ The familiar voice of Jack Sathilyn was behind them. A colossal wooden ship remained in the Okarian Ocean.

‘Jack!’ Val exclaimed. Here he was, the man that would get them to the Outpost before it would be too late. They all got on the boat and started to sail to Razgaroth.

⤖

Aurora sat on the deck of the boat and put her toes in the water. Jack sat beside her and looked at her face.

‘Has anyone told you that you have your mother’s eyes?’ Aurora looked at Jack. No one had ever said something like that before.

‘No. How did you know my mother?’

‘I knew both of them, your mother and father. Your father and I were friends as children, and the Emperor was too. Then, the Emperor’s advisor found a jewel, which divided us. Your father stole it from the Emperor, and a rivalry began. They loathed each other. The lust of the jewel overcame the Emperor, and that night, he-’

‘He what?’ Aurora interrupted.

‘He did something that can never be forgiven. He attempted to murder your father, but luckily, your father escaped, but later on, was imprisoned. I reunited with him in prison, and we made a plan to escape. Using my magic, I hypnotised the guards, and then, we broke free from the Fortress.’ Jack continued.

‘You broke free from the Fortress? Does that mean you and my father were the first people to break out of the prison?’

‘Yes.’

‘What happened after you two escaped?’

‘We confronted the Emperor, and stole the jewel, but this time, we buried it. We got a blacksmith to make us a talisman and a compass to lead to it. We hid those, and who possesses them now, is unknown. I told your father it would be safe to bury it, but he was not convinced. He made our friend use the jewel to open the Gates of Galian, but our friend had to remain behind the gates.’ Jack stopped the story.

‘Then what?’

‘It seems we have arrived in Razgaroth.’ Jack diverted the attention away from the jewel and to the mission. Aurora could sense it from miles away.

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What was so important about the jewel that it turned them against each other? Surely it was not that special that they had to keep it behind the Gates of Galian.

‘Come on,’ Frederick gestured towards the city.’We have to get to the Outpost.’

‘Hold on,’ Val stopped, ‘Why are we going to the Outpost? It is safe unless someone told the Empire about the location.’

‘I have a confession. The Emperor forced me to tell him where the location of the Outpost is. I am incredibly sorry.’

‘That means we have no time to spare.’ Val led the way and entered the Gates of Razgaroth. The others followed behind and lay low. The Empire could not know they were here. Sentries patrolled the city. Aurora put on the repta that Saltriana gave her, and nodded at the Sentries.

‘Hey, that girl looks like Aurora Arkov.’ One of the Sentries pointed at her.

‘No, it does not.’ The Sentry nudged the other one. ‘Come on, we have to patrol the city. After all, the Emperor told us to keep focused ‘cause apparently, the “Child Of Ash” could strike at any moment.’

There it was, that name again. Aurora had heard it for a second time. It must be significant if even the Sentries are talking about it. Maybe it is another threat to the Empire? A second Resistance perhaps? Aurora Arkov could not have been more wrong. They kept moving. Large market stalls surrounded them. Aurora looked at the juicy fruit. It looked so good to the food they served in the Fortress.

‘Focus.’ Frederick caught Aurora looking at the fruits and made sure she understood the mission at hand. Val led them to a market stall where horses were being sold.

‘I would like to buy two horses. What is your starting price for two of them?’ Aurora had never seen this side of Val before.

‘Well, for you and your friends here, I will give you an offer, 1250 Kyrt for one of them.’ The man at the market stall responded.

‘Let me handle this,’ Jack went up to the stall and put his hands firmly on the man’s shoulder. ‘You see that woman right there, she is Aurora Arkov, and if you do not give us those horses, then she will make your life a fucking misery.’ Aurora took the repta from her face and waved at the owner of the horses.

‘Sentries!’ The man shouted. ‘Aurora Arkov is in the city!’

‘I warned you.’ Jack put his hands out in front of him and made a blue light come from his hands. The blue light hit the man, and Jack told the others to look away. He pulled the man’s limbs apart, leaving a bloody mess on the cobbled floor.

‘So much for being discreet.’ Val got on the horse and Aurora sat behind her. Jack and Frederick sat on the other horse and began to ride out of the city and towards the Outpost. Val and Aurora’s horse took the lead. Jack and Frederick followed behind.

Aurora felt the wind in her hair. She had never done a single thing like this in her life, yet as soon as she started, she wanted to do it until the end of time. The Outpost was only a few metres from Razgaroth.

Eventually, they arrived. To their surprise, there were no carriages or horses near the Outpost. Maybe they had been wrong, or too late. They went into the entrance and went below the creaky floorboard that housed the Outpost underneath. Aurora jumped down first. It looked the exact same as she had left it. Saltriana was the first one to come towards her, and then the others followed.

‘We all thought you had been captured.’ Saltriana confessed. The others all nodded in agreement and looked at Aurora.

‘Well, you see-’

‘The Emperor is coming!’ Jack screamed. The others all panicked and took everything they could. Aurora stayed put.

‘My people, we do not have to be afraid. All of you get weapons and help stand our ground. The Empire has ruled for too long!’

The others cheered and loaded up all of the weapons and equipment that the Resistance had made in the past five years. They locked and loaded guns, shields, and swords. Jack and Frederick had never seen weapons so advanced for their time. There was no time to admire them; the Emperor had come. The day that Aurora hoped would never happen had come. The floorboards from above creaked. They were here. Sentries dropped down from above. They ransacked the whole Outpost. The members of the Resistance attacked them, getting a few of them, but some members got killed. Aurora, Val, Jack, Frederick and Saltriana all stuck together.

‘There is no time for heroes but the present.’ Saltriana left them and charged into battle. Aurora knew following her would be dangerous. Saltriana took down many Sentries, but then, a Sentry stabbed her in the heart.

‘Saltriana!’

Aurora looked at her friend for the last time, feeling remorse. This was all her fault. Every person who died in the battle would be because of her. More Sentries poured down, outnumbering the Resistance. Even with the advanced weapons they possessed, the members of the Resistance knew they would face a loss today, yet they still fought anyway. Aurora clashed blades with the Sentries, and Val struck them down. Then, a Sentry tried to attack her, but Frederick stopped it.

‘Thanks.’ Aurora and Val continued to slaughter the men they had been fighting against their whole lives. The Empire would crumble today, and Aurora Arkov would make sure of that. Jack used magic to seal the floorboard shut, to ensure no more Sentries came in. More Resistance members were slain each minute.

‘You cannot win!’ Aurora charged at each Sentry, dismembering each one of them. All of them did not defend, but one. They were no Sentry, but the Emperor himself. He struck Aurora in the leg and stood over her.

‘I knew I could not trust you. You are lucky I released you from that prison, or you would be dead already.’ The Emperor sliced her ribs with a silver blade made from Gerisian silver. Aurora could feel the cold blade scrape through her skin. ‘This can all end if you surrender. Bodies of innocent people can be spared.’

‘I will never surrender in a million fucking years.’ Aurora got up and clubbed the Emperor round the head and kicked his body against a brick wall. ‘I can end it here.’ She hovered a blade over his neck. ‘Command them to stop attacking, and I will spare you.’

‘I would be foolish to give in to you.’ A Sentry punched Aurora in the face and threw her on the floor. Val tried to intervene, but the Emperor stopped her.

‘I thought we were allies,’ The Emperor spoke to her, ‘Why do you side with these mad people? The Empire has done nothing wrong.’

‘What you did is unforgivable.’ Val pointed her blade out in front of her. The Emperor did the same. They both attacked at the same time, making the steel blades hit against each other. The Emperor tripped her and stomped on her head. He then made his way to Frederick

‘You fight for the wrong side.’ The Emperor looked his brother in the eye. ‘I thought you were better than that.’

‘Aurora did nothing wrong, you did!’

‘How dare you insult me! I am the Emperor, which is more than you will ever achieve. There was a reason Father gave me this crown.’ The Emperor insulted his brother.

‘He died trying to protect you, and this is what you do to the throne in his absence. You blame his death on magic users, but we both know damn well what happened that night!’ Frederick punched his brother in the gut. ‘I lost both of them because of you!’ Frederick landed punch after punch until his brother bled. ‘You think I care about your blood in my hands! You killed 847,000 of them, think how much blood that is!’

‘Please!’ The Emperor begged for mercy, but Frederick kept going. He did not care what he would become if he killed his brother. The suffering would be over. When he was about to finish his brother off, Aurora stopped him.

‘What are you doing? If we kill him, the suffering will end. If he survives, more people will die than if he doesn’t!’

‘It is not the way.’ Aurora lowered Frederick’s fist and fought the Sentries alongside each other. The Resistance was drastically losing, for the Emperor had a trained army. Suddenly, the number of living Resistance members declined. The final man fell and died in battle. There was nothing but corpses on the floor that lay in pools of crimson-red blood. The battle was over. Aurora, Jack, Val and Frederick looked at each other. Jack stopped the spell, and let the Sentries and the Emperor go. Aurora felt disgusted at the revolting sights on the floor. This had all started because of her. How many more lives would have to be lost because of her? Aurora Arkov had seen the atrocities of war.